Sheriff in Ohio faces backlash for suggesting addresses of those with Harris signs be documented

An Ohio sheriff is underneath fireplace for a social media submit in which he mentioned folks with Kamala Harris yard signs ought to have their addresses recorded in order that immigrants can be despatched to stay with them if the Democrat wins the presidency. Good-government teams referred to as it a menace and urged him to take away the submit.

Portage County Sheriff Bruce Zuchowski, a Republican in the thick of his personal reelection marketing campaign, posted a screenshot of a Fox News section that criticized Democratic President Joe Biden and Vice President Harris over their immigration report and the impression on small communities like Springfield, Ohio, the place an inflow of Haitian migrants has prompted a political furor in the presidential marketing campaign.

Likening folks in the U.S. illegally to “human locusts,” Zuchowski wrote on a private Facebook account and his marketing campaign’s account: “When people ask me… What’s gonna happen if the Flip-Flopping, Laughing Hyena Wins?? I say … write down all the addresses of the people who had her signs in their yards!” That method, Zuchowski continued, when migrants want locations to stay, “we’ll already have the addresses of their New families … who supported their arrival!”

Local Democrats filed complaints with the Ohio secretary of state and different businesses, and the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio wrote to Zuchowski that he had made an unconstitutional, “impermissible threat” towards residents who need to show political yard signs.

Many residents understood the Sept. 13 submit to be a “threat of governmental action to punish them for their expressed political beliefs,” and felt coerced to take down their signs or chorus from placing them up, mentioned Freda J. Levenson, authorized director of the ACLU of Ohio. She urged Zuchowski to take it down and problem a retraction.

Republican Gov. Mike DeWine, in the meantime, referred to as Zuchowski’s feedback “unfortunate” and “not helpful.”

Zuchowski defended himself in a follow-up submit this week, saying he was exercising his personal proper to free speech and that his feedback “may have been a little misinterpreted??” He mentioned voters can select whomever they need for president, however then “have to accept responsibility for their actions.”

Zuchowski, a supporter of former President Donald Trump, spent 26 years with the Ohio State Highway Patrol, together with a stint as assistant submit commander. He joined the sheriff’s workplace as a part-time deputy earlier than his election to the highest job in 2020. He is operating for reelection because the chief legislation enforcement officer of Portage County in northeast Ohio, about an hour outdoors of Cleveland.

The sheriff didn't instantly reply to a request for remark Thursday. His Democratic opponent in the November election, Jon Barber, mentioned Zuchowski’s submit constituted “voter intimidation” and undermined religion in legislation enforcement.

The Ohio secretary of state’s workplace mentioned it didn't plan to take any motion.

“Our office has determined the sheriff’s comments don’t violate election laws,” mentioned Dan Lusheck, a spokesperson for Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose. “Elected officials are accountable to their constituents, and the sheriff can answer for himself about the substance of his remarks.”

That didn’t sit nicely with the League of Women Voters, a good-government group. Two of the league’s chapters in Portage County wrote to LaRose on Thursday that his inaction had left voters “feeling abandoned and vulnerable.” The league invited LaRose to return to Portage County to speak to residents.

“We are just calling on Secretary LaRose to reassure voters of the integrity of the electoral process,” Sherry Rose, president of the League of Women Voters of Kent, mentioned in a cellphone interview. She mentioned the league has gotten stories that some folks with Harris yard signs have been harassed since Zuchowski’s submit.